Vladimir Guerrero

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Washington Nationals #1 prospect in 1997
  Guerrero has hit the ball--hard--and made jaws drop with his defense almost from the day the Expos signed him. His career minor league average is .343. Where to begin? Guerrero is a complete hitter who uses the whole field, he has tremendous pop, he plays great defense and has one of the best arms in baseball. He plays with enthusiasm and is still filling out, meaning he’ll get stronger and add power. No matter the pitch, if a pitcher makes a mistake over the plate, Guerrero will punish him. Guerrero is improving in pitch recognition and becoming more selective at the plate. His speed is his weakest tool but still is OK. Guerrero will go to big league camp with a chance to win the right field job in Montreal.
• 
  Ranked Washington Nationals #1 prospect in 1996
  Guerrero was signed in March 1993 by Expos international scouting director Fred Ferreira and was an immediate hit, batting .333 in the Dominican Summer League. He had one of the greatest half-season performances in the 10-year history of that league in 1994, hitting .424-12-35 in 25 games and prompting the Expos to move him to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League to finish the season. His success continued into 1995 when he led the South Atlantic League in batting. His three-year career average: .341. Guerrero is a potential all-star right fielder with two top-of-the-scale tools: power and arm strength. He was tall and skinny in 1994, but his bat speed increased in 1995 as his body matured. He began driving balls with power to all fields--even in Albany, a tough hitter’s park. Guerrero shows good strike-zone judgment for a player with his limited experience. He doesn’t strike out much but still must learn to hit breaking balls with more conviction. Guerrero has learned to play all three outfield positions, which makes him a more skillful, well-rounded right fielder. Scouts praise his professional work ethic. Guerrero has above-average tools in all areas except speed. He has long, loping strides yet still runs well enough to steal 15-20 bases per season. The Expos plan to move Guerrero and several younger prospects as a group from Albany to high Class A West Palm Beach in 1996. But they expect Guerrero to emerge from the pack and reach Double-A before the end of the season. He should be in Montreal by 1998 and become a player who can excel in all phases of the game.
• 
  Ranked Washington Nationals #5 prospect in 1995
  Signed with little fanfare by Expos international scouting supervisor Fred Ferreira, Guerrero turned the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League on its ear in 1994. He continued to excel when he was brought stateside to finish the season. Guerrero may have the greatest upside potential of any Expos prospect, and it would surprise no one if he moved to No. 1 on this list a year from now. His power and arm strength rate a 7 on the scouting 2-8 scale, and he has no glaring weakness at the plate. Guerrero runs well, but has long, loping strides and doesn’t know how to use his speed yet on either offense or defense. The Expos prefer to start their best outfield prospects in center field and let them play themselves out of the position. They think it will be at least two years before Guerrero switches to right.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Eastern League #1 prospect in 1996
  The comparisons have ranged from Roberto Clemente to Barry Bonds to Andre Dawson. And that was before Guerrero spent his first full month in Double-A. The comparisons only solidified over the final three months of the season as the Eastern League’s youngest position player led the league in batting (.360) while carrying Harrisburg to the playoffs. “He’s probably one of the best young players I have ever seen,” Reading manager Bill Robinson said. “I’ve never seen him loaf on anything. He’s a thinking man’s player out there. He’s a rare breed. “There’s not a thing he can’t do and there is not a thing he can’t do exceptionally well. The thing I like about Guerrero is that he can hit some bad pitches for hits. He can hit the pitcher’s pitch.”
• 
  Ranked South Atlantic League #2 prospect in 1995
  Guerrero had the South Atlantic League’s best batting average and outfield arm. Had he played somewhere besides Albany's Polecat Park, he would have had more home runs. As it was, only Hagerstown’s Jeff Ladd had a better slugging percentage. Guerrero reminds scouts of Rondell White, who also passed through the SAL as an Expos farmhand. But Guerrero is farther along in all phases of the game than White was at the same time, except for speed. And Guerrero is no slowpoke. “You have to see Vladimir every day to appreciate him,” Sisson said. “He’s probably the hardest working guy on our team. Even in early work, he tracks down fly balls in batting practice.”
• 
  Ranked Florida Complex League #4 prospect in 1994
  Guerrero arrived late because he was busy hammering 12 home runs in the Dominican Summer League. One of his Gulf Coast League home runs traveled more than 450 feet. “He reminds you of a young Andre Dawson,” Marlins manager Juan Bustabad said. “He has outstanding bat speed.” Guerrero is a free swinger, but there’s hope he’ll learn discipline at the plate. He tracks fly balls well in center and has above-average arm strength.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #2 prospect in 1997
• Ranked Baseball America's #9 prospect in 1996
• Ranked Baseball America's #85 prospect in 1995

• December, 1996 Scouting Report
  Guerrero has hit the ball--hard--and made jaws drop with his defense almost from the day the Expos signed him. His career minor league average is .343. Where to begin? Guerrero is a complete hitter who uses the whole field, he has tremendous pop, he plays great defense and has one of the best arms in baseball. He plays with enthusiasm and is still filling out, meaning he’ll get stronger and add power. No matter the pitch, if a pitcher makes a mistake over the plate, Guerrero will punish him. Guerrero is improving in pitch recognition and becoming more selective at the plate. His speed is his weakest tool but still is OK. Guerrero will go to big league camp with a chance to win the right field job in Montreal.
• December, 1995 Scouting Report
  Guerrero was signed in March 1993 by Expos international scouting director Fred Ferreira and was an immediate hit, batting .333 in the Dominican Summer League. He had one of the greatest half-season performances in the 10-year history of that league in 1994, hitting .424-12-35 in 25 games and prompting the Expos to move him to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League to finish the season. His success continued into 1995 when he led the South Atlantic League in batting. His three-year career average: .341. Guerrero is a potential all-star right fielder with two top-of-the-scale tools: power and arm strength. He was tall and skinny in 1994, but his bat speed increased in 1995 as his body matured. He began driving balls with power to all fields--even in Albany, a tough hitter’s park. Guerrero shows good strike-zone judgment for a player with his limited experience. He doesn’t strike out much but still must learn to hit breaking balls with more conviction. Guerrero has learned to play all three outfield positions, which makes him a more skillful, well-rounded right fielder. Scouts praise his professional work ethic. Guerrero has above-average tools in all areas except speed. He has long, loping strides yet still runs well enough to steal 15-20 bases per season. The Expos plan to move Guerrero and several younger prospects as a group from Albany to high Class A West Palm Beach in 1996. But they expect Guerrero to emerge from the pack and reach Double-A before the end of the season. He should be in Montreal by 1998 and become a player who can excel in all phases of the game.
• December, 1995 Scouting Report
  The comparisons have ranged from Roberto Clemente to Barry Bonds to Andre Dawson. And that was before Guerrero spent his first full month in Double-A. The comparisons only solidified over the final three months of the season as the Eastern League’s youngest position player led the league in batting (.360) while carrying Harrisburg to the playoffs. “He’s probably one of the best young players I have ever seen,” Reading manager Bill Robinson said. “I’ve never seen him loaf on anything. He’s a thinking man’s player out there. He’s a rare breed. “There’s not a thing he can’t do and there is not a thing he can’t do exceptionally well. The thing I like about Guerrero is that he can hit some bad pitches for hits. He can hit the pitcher’s pitch.”
• December, 1994 Scouting Report
  Signed with little fanfare by Expos international scouting supervisor Fred Ferreira, Guerrero turned the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League on its ear in 1994. He continued to excel when he was brought stateside to finish the season. Guerrero may have the greatest upside potential of any Expos prospect, and it would surprise no one if he moved to No. 1 on this list a year from now. His power and arm strength rate a 7 on the scouting 2-8 scale, and he has no glaring weakness at the plate. Guerrero runs well, but has long, loping strides and doesn’t know how to use his speed yet on either offense or defense. The Expos prefer to start their best outfield prospects in center field and let them play themselves out of the position. They think it will be at least two years before Guerrero switches to right.
• December, 1994 Scouting Report
  Guerrero had the South Atlantic League’s best batting average and outfield arm. Had he played somewhere besides Albany's Polecat Park, he would have had more home runs. As it was, only Hagerstown’s Jeff Ladd had a better slugging percentage. Guerrero reminds scouts of Rondell White, who also passed through the SAL as an Expos farmhand. But Guerrero is farther along in all phases of the game than White was at the same time, except for speed. And Guerrero is no slowpoke. “You have to see Vladimir every day to appreciate him,” Sisson said. “He’s probably the hardest working guy on our team. Even in early work, he tracks down fly balls in batting practice.”
• December, 1993 Scouting Report
  Guerrero arrived late because he was busy hammering 12 home runs in the Dominican Summer League. One of his Gulf Coast League home runs traveled more than 450 feet. “He reminds you of a young Andre Dawson,” Marlins manager Juan Bustabad said. “He has outstanding bat speed.” Guerrero is a free swinger, but there’s hope he’ll learn discipline at the plate. He tracks fly balls well in center and has above-average arm strength.